What is the myth of flexibility?

Before I answer that, let’s take a step back and let me ask you a question first.

Think about the answer to this yourself and write it down somewhere.

What are the primary reasons why you can’t stay consistent with a yoga practice?

And let me also ask a second question, this one is for those of you who are still yet to make it to a yoga class, why not?

I’m willing to wager that a pretty common response to these questions regardless of whether you are a total beginner or if you are struggling for consistency in your yoga practice, your answer went something like this:

“I’m not flexible enough to do yoga.”

or something like this:

“I’ll never be able to be as flexibility as Jane or Joe.”

or these:

“I’m a guy and I’m stiff and always will be.  Yoga is an activity for my wife or girlfriend, they’re flexible, I’m not”

“My hips are too tight from my office job.”

“I hate the splits.”

These are all just a collection of excuses and self-limiting beliefs but, the good news is that these excuses and negative self-limiting beliefs stem from a myth.

And the myth, let’s call it the ‘The Grand Myth of Yoga’, is that you must be flexible in order to do yoga.

That statement is %100 percent not true.  Yoga is a whole lot more than being pretty and flexible on your yoga mat for an hour or for however long you practice.

And I hope I’m not the first to tell you this, but I very well could be and that is okay, but, yoga is also a whole lot more than sitting on your mat in Full Lotus (flexibility!) and breathing, there are many many many layers to it, both physical and internal.

But let’s talk the physical.

A truly balanced physical yoga practice contains strength, flexibility, and balance.  For a bit more detail on this I suggest you read this post.

Why Flexibility Can Be Bad?

This myth goes two ways.  One side of it is, I’m to stiff and tight to do yoga and the other side of it is, I’m so limber, loose, and bendy, I’ll be great at yoga.

Well, this is what happens to the latter, and I see it quite commonly over and over again, people don’t seem to understand.

If you are already flexible, and even worse unstable (hyperextension in multiple places), and show up to yoga and neglect the strength component and focus on only doing things that make you more flexible thinking it’s good for you and that you’re a superstar on day one, you’ll end up even more unstable and injured.

The point of yoga is to bring yourself into balance, both physically and internally.

So if you’re already flexible and work at it even more neglecting the other components, guess what?  You are actually pulling yourself further away from balance, and from a physical standpoint this will make you even more susceptible to injuries.

Hence why people get injured in yoga classes, because of this myth.

Back to the Other Side

This side prevents you from practicing all together.

This is the side that says, “I’m too stiff to ever do yoga.” How do you expect to improve at anything if you don’t start?

We tend to only do things we are good at.  This is toxic.

Think about something you are good at now and think back to when you first started, did you consider yourself good at it?  Or did you have to practice a bit to acquire the skill?

Just get started, find a class, as I talk about so often on this blog, just put one foot in front of the other and you’ll be amazed at what happens if you stick with it.

Another Mini Yoga Myth: The Myth of Performance

In order to get consistent with a yoga practice, you must release yourself from another myth, which is that yoga is a performance.  It is not.

In my own experience, I observe that students treat their yoga practice similar to how golfers treat their golf swing.

Have you ever been to a driving range and practiced hitting golf balls, what’s the first thought that comes into your head? 

“What do all of these other people around me think of my swing?”

“What are they going to think of me if I miss hit the ball or even worse miss it all together?”

I see this type of self-consience defeatist thinking in yoga classes all the time.  I won’t try crow or I won’t try a headstand simply because I can’t do it perfectly and the last thing I want is for other people around me to see me falling over or to look clumsy.

You need to release yourself of this type of thinking.

The Yoga Triangle

Every person on this planet is different and every body on this planet is different and we all have different strengths and weaknesses when we starting practicing yoga.

I like to call this The Starting Triangle of Yoga.  You start in one of the three corners.  For most students, you’ll naturally start stronger in one area of your practice.  That could be strength, flexibility, or balance.  You’ll know immediately once you start practicing.

What you should be doing is then working on your weaker points to pull your body into balance. Working on your weaker points means having to be “bad” at yoga in front of other people.

Unfortunately, we only like to do what we’re good at. 

If you subscribe to this mindset, you’ll end with a completely unbalanced yoga practice and will actually make yourself more vulnerable to a whole host of injuries as I stated earlier.

Let me let you in on a little secret, the person next to you doesn’t care about your crow pose as much as you think.  It’s time to get over yourself. 🙂

5 Principles To Incorporate To Prevent this Myth From Sabotaging Your Yoga Practice

1. Fully embrace the notion of practice.

Yoga is just that, a practice.  Be willing to accept that yoga is just another tool you can use for self-improvement.  Also, even if you believe you are the greatest creation to ever grace planet earth, accept that we can all benefit from self-improvement in whatever form it presents itself.

A slightly amusing side note.  I enjoy reading and go to the bookstore often.  It’s funny to take friends to the self-help section of the bookstore and watch how they squirm and fidget standing in front of it or even funnier to watch them run off and go stare at the magazines.

2. Displaying weakness actually makes you look stronger in the eyes of others.

Surprise, surprise.  People can see through the aura of perfection you present much easier than you think.

Me personally, I have a chuckle to myself when I watch someone not even try something that’s presented to them.

3. Take action, put one foot in front of the other, consistently.

Whatever you want to do, just start, hold yourself accountable. Fully embrace that you’ll bad at it when you start. That’s okay, if you stick with it, it’s impossible not to improve.  Embrace every failure and fall as an extraordinary learning opportunity.

4. Seek out a yoga instructor to teach you one-on-one.

Of all the clients I work with personally, I can tell you something I’ve learned from it.  Yeah, I am teaching students yoga poses and teaching them about how their body works, however, far more important, I am instilling a mindset, a mindset that sets anyone up for success not just on their mat, but in life.

An amazing yoga teacher can alter the course of your entire life.

5. F.O.C.U.S.

Follow One Course Until Success.

Move away from the mindset of instant gratification and focus more on the overall body of work and chip away at it.

Nothing worth accomplishing happens in a day just like Rome wasn’t built over night.

To wrap up this post I leave you with one question:

But first, think about this quote, it’s from a book I’m currently reading Antifragile, by Nassim Nicholas Taleb. (If you’re interested in reading and as an extension learning more, and my take, you can join my book club here.)

“The irony of the process of thought control: the more energy you put into trying to control your ideas and what you think about, the more your ideas end up controlling you.” 

When have you thought about something (in life or yoga) so much that your own mind began to hold you back from accomplishing it?  Leave it as a comment below.